inopticalsolutions News August 4, 2026

Ronian has been elected Fellow of SPIE, the International Society for Optics and Photonics! 


"SPIE Fellows represent the highest level of professional recognition in optics and photonics. This distinction honors individuals whose exceptional technical achievements and leadership have made a significant impact on the field and the broader scientific community. Fellows are recognized not only for their expertise, but it also for advancing innovation, mentoring others, and shaping the future of optics and photonics through their influence and service." 
- SPIE

inopticalsolutions News October 23, 2025

Ronian's co-authored article on flat-field illumination in fluorescence microscopy has been featured on the cover of Microscopy and Analysis! Written together with his colleague at V-BMB Pte Ltd, Sarvesh Satpute, the article discusses how to achieve > 95% uniformity in the fluorescence image of bio-samples in a microscope system using commercial optics. Read the full article on page 42!


inopticalsolutions News September 24, 2025

Ronian has been selected to be among the Photonics100 2026!


"Launched in 2023, The Photonics100 recognises 100 innovators each year who are shaping the global photonics landscape. Honourees are selected for their pioneering work in academia, industry, and entrepreneurship, spanning applications from quantum to biomedical, and lasers to optical communications." 
- Andrew Knight, Audience Engagement Manager, Electro Optics (andrew.knight@europascience.com)


“Every challenge photonics faces — whether technical, economic, or political — is matched by an opportunity to innovate...The Photonics100 celebrates those leading the way.”
- Warren Clark, Managing Director of Europa Science, publisher of Electro Optics.

inopticalsolutions News May 20, 2024

The Institute of Physics (IOP) interviews Ronian Siew about his new book, Modern Classical Optical System Design: Fundamentals, techniques, tips, and tricks. In the interview, Ronian talks about 'diversity and inclusiveness' in learning optical system design, and touches on the question of whether or not artificial intelligence (AI) will take over the job of the optical system designer. Click below to watch the interview on YouTube!

inopticalsolutions News March 20, 2024

Under the kind invitation of Dr. Adrian E. Villanueva Luna, the INAOE, and the optical department chaired by Dr. Fermin Salomon Granados Agustin, Ronian gave an invited talk on Basics of Optical Systems in Real-Time PCR Instruments for Virus Detection. The talk was part of a guest speakers list for the graduate course on Spectroscopic Techniques for Medical Diagnostics, taught by Dr. Adrian Villanueva. The talks and the course occur in celebration of over 50 years of the optical department at INAOE, which is a distinguished institute with a rich history in contributions to the advancement of optical research.


inopticalsolutions News February 21, 2024

 New! Modern Classical Optical System Design: Fundamentals, Techniques, Tips, and Tricks has been published by IOP Publishing! Click the cover below to link to the book's webpage, where supplementary material (Ansys Zemax OpticStudio files) are available for free download. Click HERE to purchase the book direct from the publisher's website. Click HERE to get the hardbound copy from Amazon!

Courtesy of IOP Publishing.

inopticalsolutions News September 12, 2023

New! Perspectives and Multiple-Field are now available through SPIE! Members of SPIE get a discounted price. Click HERE and HERE to view the books on SPIE's website!

Courtesy of SPIE.

inopticalsolutions News March 2, 2022

Ronian's latest paper has been published in the European Journal of Physics! In this new work, Ronian extends conventional optical radiometry to the case of non-stigmatic, non-aplanatic, and non-isoplanatic lenses. Click HERE to read the open-access author-accepted preprint!



inopticalsolutions News September 19, 2021

Ronian will be giving an invited talk at the 2021 Frontiers in Optics and Photonics Symposium organized by the Indian Institute of Technology Delhi! Click HERE to download the slides!

inopticalsolutions News December 25, 2020

Wrapping up the year in 2020, Ronian publishes a technical note describing how to apply a simple formula to compute the relative illumination of an un-vignetted imaging lens system in terms of image distortion, differential distortion, chief ray angle (in object space), and the size and shape of the entrance pupil.

inopticalsolutions News June 25, 2020

Ronian presents a novel optical design concept for a variable focus system without moving parts at the OSA Imaging & Applied Optics Congress 2020 (online). Click HERE to see the open-access draft slides. Click HERE to link to the proceedings paper.



inopticalsolutions News October 15, 2019

Ronian publishes a mini-book on Monte Carlo simulation and its role in modern optical tolerancing. In this new book from SPIE Press, Ronian explains how to take key concepts from optics, multivariable calculus, and statistics, and apply them to analyze modern optical instruments, where system performance is a function of many components of variation.

inopticalsolutions News March 17, 2019

Ronian contributes a Featured Editorial in Photonics Online. In this article, Ronian explains the basic physics governing the relative illumination in imaging systems.

inopticalsolutions News July 8, 2018

Ronian publishes a new book, Multiple-Field Multispectral Imaging Using Wide-Angle Lenses. Written for researchers, optical designers, and optical engineers, this short book shares Ronian's investigations into the design of multispectral imaging systems that do not suffer from "spectral shifts" due to thin-film filters used at non-normal angles of incidence. Click HERE to preview first pages! Click HERE to buy it on Amazon!

inopticalsolutions News October 18th, 2017

Ronian publishes a new book, Perspectives on Modern Optics and Imaging: with Practical Examples using Zemax OpticStudio. Written for any optical engineer, designer, or any serious optics enthusiast who is interested in basic optical models of a selected number of modern applications, this book offers fresh and insightful discussions on the fundamentals and their role in modern optical systems. Click HERE to buy it on Amazon.

inopticalsolutions News March 31st, 2017

Ronian publishes a short commentary in the journal Optical Engineering where he introduces the concept of "differential distortion" and how it impacts the relative illumination of imaging systems [R. Siew, "Relative illumination and image distortion," Opt. Eng. 56(4) 049701 (Mar 31, 2017)].

inopticalsolutions News October 20th, 2016

Ronian publishes a new study in the journal Applied Optics on how to reduce glass optimization time from hours to minutes for the design of apochromatic lenses with large field of view [R. Siew, "Practical automated glass selection and the design of apochromats with large field of view," App. Opt. 55, pp. 9232 - 9236 (2016)].


Also, click on the image below to read a Linkedin version of the glass selection method, complete with a simple explanation, and Zemax lens files. 

inopticalsolutions News April 7th, 2016

Contrary to common experience, when an ordinary imaging lens is used to focus incoherent light from an extended source (such as the Sun), the brightest and most intense position of the focused beam is not at the image plane, nor is it at the focal plane. This specific effect is independent of diffraction and aberrations, and it would also apply to lenses with negative refractive index. In a new study published in the Journal of the Optical Society of America, Ronian discusses this interesting geometrical property of lenses and proposes a number of potential applications to signal detection, metamaterial lenses, and nonimaging optics [R. Siew, "Axial nonimaging characteristics of imaging lenses: discussion," J. Opt. Soc. Am. A 33, 970 - 977 (2016)].

Also, click on the image below to read about Ronian's simple "home-made" optics experiment where he demonstrates this focusing effect using a magnifying glass and an ordinary LED desk lamp! 

inopticalsolutions News June 4th, 2014

Ronian co-authors a technical white paper on laser induced damage threshold of optical coatings for CVI Laser Optics (a division of Idex Optics and Photonics).

inopticalsolutions News August 18th, 2013

Ronian writes a feature article, "Raman spectroscopy monitors thin-film Si-PV cells," in the June 2013 issue of Laser Focus World magazine.